Bedford-Stuyvesant

Bedford-Stuyvesant, also known as Bed-Stuy (pronounced "bed-sty"), is a neighborhood of northern central Brooklyn, New York City. The area was once divided into the village of Bedford and Stuyvesant Heights, but the two towns would merge together into one larger town. In 1907, the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge led to Jews and Italians migrating to Bed-Stuy from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, but the Great Depression led to poor African-Americans from the American South moving into the area. During the 1960s, the growing lower-class African-American community became the largest ethnic group in the neighborhood, and the decade was filled with race riots, gang wars, and social issues. In 1977, 134 Bed-Stuy stores were looted during a blackout, with 45 of them being set on fire by arsonists. During the 2000s, the neighborhood began to experience gentrification after the decline of the crack epidemic, and the old phrase "Bed-Stuy, do or die" was replaced by "Bed-Stuy, and Proud of It". In 2011, Bed-Stuy had a population of 157,530 people; 56% was African-American/black, 22% white, 19% Hispanic, 2% Asian, and 2% from other or multiple races.